Adrian Topala
Senior Engineer & Architect who ships.
Close to the problem. Close to the code.
20+ years delivering mission-critical systems across cloud, web, mobile, IoT, and desktop — for startups moving at speed and Fortune 500 companies that can't afford to fail. I design lean, pragmatic solutions in high-trust, fast-paced environments with ambiguous and competing priorities. I care about clarity, velocity, and building teams that ship.
How I Engage
Fractional CTO / Technical Director
Own your technical direction without a full-time hire. I set the architecture, build the delivery model, align the team, and represent engineering at the leadership table — then hand it off when you're ready.
Best for: early-stage startups, scale-ups without a CTO, or companies navigating a technical inflection point.
Tech Lead Embed
I join your team or programme as the senior technical lead — hands-on when needed, driving delivery end-to-end. Architecture, cross-team coordination, stakeholder alignment, and shipping. No ramp-up theatre.
Best for: complex programmes that need a senior lead who can both design the system and get it across the line.
Senior IC / Principal Engineer
I write production code, own hard problems, and operate without hand-holding. Full-stack, cloud, IoT, AI — across the stack and into the infrastructure. Available for the right scope and rate.
Best for: teams that need a senior engineer who ships, not one who needs managing.
Industries
Work Experience
Architected and led delivery of a frictionless, computer-vision-based IoT checkout platform, initially piloted in a single store and progressively scaled to multiple stores and countries. Delivered an award-winning AI-powered retail solution (RETA Award 2023 — Best AI & Robotics), reducing checkout time by 90%+.
Built a production-grade virtual store and customer-journey simulator enabling any team member or executive to simulate real customer behaviour, providing continuous visibility into system maturity. Orchestrated cross-functional delivery across backend, frontend, mobile, IoT, UX, BI, QA, and external vendors by establishing clear integration contracts, release cadences, and rollout readiness criteria.
Built a frictionless IoT self-checkout concept prototype as a personal R&D initiative, including kiosk client, backend services, OTA pipelines, and highly configurable workflows.
Built NIFAM — interactive web UI for the decisionSupport R package (FastAPI · Vue 3 · TypeScript · R/Plumber), using LLMs for model explanation and user-facing guidance via RAG while retaining deterministic execution.
Designed a real-time tactical puzzle game in PhaserJS with procedural AI levels. Developed Valnor — a TypeScript SQL builder & ETL toolkit (to be released).
Stabilised HelloCoins.com crypto exchange with a 6-engineer remote team. Set up Node.js · React · MongoDB stack, CI/CD pipelines, and agile delivery. Facilitated collaboration across engineering functions and aligned delivery milestones with product and business expectations.
Initiated modernisation by rebuilding the core RFQ workflow as a lean MVP — the system's most complex and business-critical feature — after earlier freelance attempts failed. Re-architected Europe's largest manufacturing sourcing platform with micro-frontends (TypeScript, React, Redux, Material-UI) for better modularity and team autonomy.
Reduced RFQ processing time by 20×. Collaborated closely with CTO/COO-level stakeholders, aligning technical direction with business priorities and ensuring consistent delivery across engineering and product teams.
Architected a private pricing platform turning brand communities into micro-influencers. Integrated Shopify API and headless CMS to automate product onboarding, pricing sync, and order management.
Delivered autoscaling live/VOD streaming platforms on GCP with Node.js micro-services and Wowza servers for Limelight Music (US) and Digita Oy (Finland).
Led design and development of a fraud-detection and customer-risk system for IoT self-scanning carts. Coordinated a cross-functional Agile team across business, UX, and engineering.
Raised review rate for active customers from 18% to 94% in under 3 months. Standardised release and deployment management and implemented an OTA (over-the-air) IoT deployment system. Delivered on Azure · Node.js · React · .NET Core · C# · MongoDB · SQL Server.
Led multi-division data engineering and BI transformation for enterprise risk reporting, migrating complex Excel-based workflows into scalable, version-controlled QlikView dashboards.
Automated Excel-to-QlikView logic migration, improving data integration speed by 6× and enabling cross-division analytics. Implemented parallel Kanban pipelines and DevOps processes to enhance efficiency in a complex, multi-division environment.
Designed and built an IoT solution integrating commodity GSM/Android thermal printers with a centralised ERP for a chain of cafes in Melbourne — connecting order taking, kitchen, and delivery operations end-to-end. Sole architect, developer, and delivery owner.
Architected and developed a consumer-facing SaaS extension for the Dracoon secure file-sharing ecosystem, enabling simplified document sharing via dynamically generated QR codes.
Co-founded a stealth-mode security start-up in Munich.
Architected and developed the high-performance .NET/C#/ASP.NET API layer that integrated iPad and Windows desktop clients with Brainloop's core services, driving a 30% increase in customer acquisition upon market release. Delivered Client SDKs (.NET, Java, iOS/Xamarin) with libraries, code samples, and documentation.
Built a chatbot for automating sales conversions of an online marketing business. Sole architect, developer, and delivery owner.
Directed technical delivery and architecture of enterprise-scale nearshoring projects for major Dutch clients (Hyundai, Group M, Boskalis) using .NET/C#/ASP.NET.
Managed project budgets up to €2M and led cross-functional teams of 10+ engineers. Core team member that founded the Iasi R&D centre, growing it from 4 to 30 engineers.
For Boskalis, architected and led development of SOPRO — a complex SOA web system for managing soil processing activities worldwide, integrating SCADA, BizTalk orchestration, Active Directory, and SQL Server Reporting Services. Also delivered SOFLO — a soil flow registration and dynamic reporting system for Dutch government compliance. Both projects followed PRINCE2 with iterative Scrum, TDD, and CI on Team Foundation Server.
Built an eCommerce solution for a handmade jewellery start-up. Sole architect, developer, and delivery owner.
Built a classroom management system for an education services start-up. Sole architect, developer, and delivery owner.
Lead developer role delivering software solutions for local and international clients.
Built a VoIP PIN sales management solution for a small telecom services provider. Sole architect, developer, and delivery owner.
Early career software developer role.
Stack & Skills
Full-spectrum technical expertise across modern engineering disciplines
Frontend & Full-Stack
Backend & Data
Cloud & DevOps
AI & LLM Integration
Testing, Quality & Security
Architecture & Delivery
Leadership & Collaboration
AI-Augmented Engineering Specialist
Pioneering the integration of LLMs across the full software delivery lifecycle: spec-driven development with AI-assisted authoring, code generation within architectural boundaries, AI-generated test criteria, and validation feedback embedded into CI/CD — all while maintaining human oversight and production-grade quality.